Humanist Union Army
__TOC__ Summary "Violence is not desirable. Neither should it be shunned - revolution can only be achieved through force. The corrupt do not parcel out change from above." -Roland Stein The Federal Army of the Humanist Union is the state-level military force charged with execution of sub-orbital warfare, answering only to naval theatre commanders and federal-level administration. While the concept of the "army" typically encompasses ground forces such as the infantry, armored units, and artillery, surface navies and planetary air assets all fall under the command umbrella of the Federal Army. Army doctrine is based around integration and close cooperation of vehicular, air, and infantry assets, with teamwork emphasized in all branches. The Federal Army traditionally favors equipment that is simple but highly functional and rugged, a holdover from the lean revolutionary days. The Federal Army is relatively experienced in waging and combating guerilla warfare. Regular Army The regular army - also known by the revolutionary-era name of 'Proletarian Guard' - makes up the vast majority of the Federal Army's manpower. It consists largely of volunteers from across the Union, with coreward population centers providing a disproportionate percentage of the available manpower. The regular army is present throughout the Humanist Union. In times of peace, it acts to augment and oversee Civil Defense forces, particularly on unstable worlds. The Federal Army's involvement in disaster response has helped its image significantly in the outer rim, where fewer men and women sign themselves over to government service. Tactically, the Federal Army favors heavy employment of artillery and air assets to soften enemy resistance. Infantry formations are large and supported by integrated armor assets. In times of war, the Federal Army conscripts men and women into its service. The Marshal of the Federal Army - usually shortened to Marshal - is the supreme commander of the regular army and Special Operations Special Operations Special Operations, the posthuman division of the Federal Army, has a high-tech focus - equipment is expensive but extremely effective. High mobility is the focus of Special Operations, and this is reflected in everything from their armor assets to their tactics. Special Operations is ultimately subordinate to the Federal Army and has no formal ranks above colonel, though in practice there are "senior colonels" in charge of organizing exceptionally large Special Operations formations in the field. Special Operations enjoys a healthy, largely friendly rivalry with the regular army. Specialized SO troops are used as marines on Federal Navy vessels, and are typically trained in boarding, anti-boarder combat, and limited ground engagement. The Special Operations division also provides personal bodyguards for high-ranking federal officials, and its troops are seconded to the Union's intelligence departments regularly. All Special Operation soldiers are volunteers that passed special selection; conscripts are neither used nor desired. Equipment (Infantry) Firearms RA-12 The standard-issue firearm of the Proletarian Guard, the RA-12 is a rugged, high-power assault rifle known mostly for its exceptional durability and remarkable stopping power. A chemical rifle, it may seem primitive next to personal plasma weapons and mass accelerators, but it has proven battlefield effective time and time again. The RA-12's primary disadvantage is in its recoil, which is considerable for an unassisted user, and its weight. Easy and cheap to manufacture, the RA-12 can function long after other personal infantry weapons have failed under extreme combat conditions. Common variations include the RAb-12, a bullpup configuration intended for close quarters and naval use, and the RAm-12, a reinforced RA-12 that serves as a SAW. RA-10 The predecessor to the RA-12; it broadly resembles the RA-12 in aesthetics and performance, though is slightly inferior across a variety of metrics. The bulk of remaining RA-10s have been relegated to reserves, far-flung Civil Defense and police units, and to the limited civilian market. Newly-manufactured RA-10s are generally produced for export purposes. A large plant can be found on New Haven, having been converted from a pre-existing rifle plant when the Humanist Union liberated the world. RA-10L An assault rifle designed for non-power-assisted infantry, based off of the RA-10 platform. The RA-10L has considerably less recoil and heft than the RA-12 or the RA-10, though this comes at the expense of noticably inferior firepower. The RA-10L is mostly designed for use by and against infantry using non-assist or light hybrid armor and is very effective in this capacity. Against the powered armor of the Federal Army or foreign states, however, the RA-10L has some difficulties. A relatively uncomplicated rifle, the RA-10L is a major product of many backwaters without highly sophisticated industrial infastructure and is sold galaxy-wide to most customers. Within the Humanist Union, it is most freqently seen in the hands of Civil Defense and police forces. RAE-5 The primary rifle of the Special Operations infantry, the RAE-5 is an automatic mass driver. Technically complicated and expensive, they are tremendously effective, even against power-armored soldiers. As a railgun, the RAE-5 sports fairly modest recoil; this compensates somewhat for the fairly modest rate of fire. Equipped with a more complicated version of the integrated targeting gear found in the standard RA-12, the RAE-5 is lethally accurate even at extreme ranges. The RAE-5's weight makes it impractical for no-assist or light-assist armor-users. RN/L-2 Crowd Control Rifle The RN/L-2, more commonly known by the slang terms of "heat ray" and "microwave gun," is a crowd control weapon manufactured primarily in the Humanist Union for use by police and military units in crowd control situations. The RN/L-2 is a nonlethal weapon that utilizes an intense beam of electromagnetic radiation to disrupt and debilitate targets through pain without leaving any long-lasting injury or disfigurement. The RN/L-2 is used sparingly whenever possible, typically only when protests turn violent. While compact in size, the RN/L-2 is a fairly hefty tool. Its rugged construction makes it unintentionally useful as a cudgel in melee situations, and critics of the Humanist Union have been known to claim that one is just as likely to be hit in the face with an RN/L-2 as to be shot with one. The RN/L-2 is occasionally utilized as a torture device, though the Humanist Union does not officially consider the weapon useful in the capacity of an interrogative tool and punishes abuse of the weapon quite severely. Melee Type 1/Type 2 Assault Spike Most mundane melee weapons have no place on the modern battlefield, least of all on one where power armor is in use. Nonetheless, situations occur in combat where firearms are not at hand, and the Union's Federal Army was pressed to develop a tool that would always be at hand and not require ammunition. The solution was the "assault spike," a compact attachment connected to the forearm utility jack of a powersuit. When engaged, the assault spike rapidly shoots from its housing under high power, punching holes in an enemy's protection to injure him directly. Most effective against natural weak points in suits. Pattern A Military Knife A simple, uncomplicated knife, found in any soldier's kit. While technically capable of use as a weapon, it is not a practical resort against power-armored opponents. The Pattern A is designed largely with utility roles in mind; its ultra-light, high-durability blade suffers heavy and inexpert use with ease. Armor Type-2 PAIS The Type-2 PAIS (Power-Assisted Infantry Suite) is the standard battle armor of the Proletarian Guard. Modular in design, the Type-2 can be broken down to various degrees depending on mission constraints and unit needs. The full Type-2 provides full RBC protection, power-assisted movement, integrated targeting, integrated medical systems, and protection against infantry-scale fire, among other utilities. While the Type-2 can easily compensate for the kick of a typical infantry weapon, larger-scale weapons like the RAE-5 are still unwieldly. Type-3 PAIS(h) The Type-3 PAIS(h) is heavy-duty infantry battle suit designed for use by Special Operations. With far more robust power assistance and movement enhancement, it pushes the transhuman capabilities of SO soldiers even further. Heavier and bulkier than the Type-2, the Type-3's modularity is somewhat inferior to the Type-2; many of the systems that make the suit superior are integral. Type-3 users are capable of handling any infantry-scale weapon with relative ease, as well as absorbing impressive levels of fire. The Type-3's medical suite is extremely well-regarded, and has a reputation for saving people from seemingly-impossible injuries long enough for proper medical treatment to be applied. Type-5 APAIS Also known as a "breacher suit," the Type-5 stands somewhere on the blurred line between powered armor and a vehicle. Armored against even light anti-vehicular weapons, Type-5s are usually deployed to break enemy hardpoints, to storm buildings, and to storm starships (especially at entry points). Typical armament consists of a right-arm-mounted automatic mass driver, a 7.62mm LMG mounted in the left arm alongside a grenade launcher, and a shoulder-mounted flechette gun for eliminating lightly armored infantry. Type-5s are bipedal, with a third leg to stabilize the suit when it loses its balance or is engaging in high-agility maneuvers. Type-5s have humanoid arms mounted on the torso trunk that are typically kept retracted to avoid damage; these are intended for use as manipulators, but can hold and use light infantry weaponry. Type-5 suits are extremely cramped; the pilot is in a near-fetal position and manipulates the suit through a direct brainjack. Despite their firepower and impressive armor, Type-5 attrition rates are quite high, owing to their extremely dangerous role. As a result, Type-5 pilots have a reputation for being unpredictable and fearless. Vehicles Air DO/S-10 Sylph Named for the mythological air spirits of Terran antiquity, it is possible that the engineers at Federal Military Aerospace were attempting a subtle irony. It is true that the DO/S-10 is capable of flight - both orbital and suborbital - but this is more a matter of sheer brute force than anything else. One of the Federal Military's lighter dropship designs, the DO/S-10 is designed to deliver up to two squads of troops and their equipment into battle. The Sylph features a retractable chin-mounted cannon and hardpoints for rockets, missiles, or combinations thereof for close support, though this weaponry is sometimes eschewed for additional fuel. While most Federal Navy ships host a brace of Sylphs for precision planetary work, they are generally found in much greater number aboard army carriers. Sylphs are often deployed in purely suborbital work. Pilots of the DO/S-10 have a reputation as being everything from 'quirky' to the decidedly less affectionate 'suicidal,' and enjoy their reputation among the navy and army as wildcards and daredevils. VAS-17 Valkyrie Unusual among modern VTOLs in that it is a rotorcraft instead of a directed-thrust VTOL, the VAS-17 maintains its viability through significantly reduced production costs and higher fuel efficiency in exchange for its lowered top speed and slightly inferior lift capacity. Valkyries are a helicopter gunship that would be immediately recognizable even as far back as the 20th century, though their primary armament - a heavy mass driver combined with light gun pods, anti-armor missiles, and rocket pods mounted under its wings - is considerably in excess of any such craft's capabilities. The Valkyrie is most at home in hilly terrain, taking advantage of the natural cover terrain affords and only exposing itself long enough to kill its targets - generally, armored vehicles such as tanks. Land Robotics RAH-5b Hunter-Killer This second-generation combat robot is roughly analogous to a light vehicle and vaguely resembles a truck-sized spider. Each leg mounts a retractable wheel assembly for quick movement over accomodating terrain. The center chassis is turreted, the main weapon being a light mass driver mounted in a similar manner to a tank's main gun. The "turret" is flanked on each side by a minigun and a rapid-fire grenade launcher/light mortar, respectively. Light manipulator arms mounted below the weaponry allow for some fine manipulation. The pseudo-AI that governs a hunter-killer features intelligence not particularly greater than that of a dog. The RAH-5b is often attached to infantry units as light armor support, and can pose significant threat to vehicles and infantry alike. Hunter-Killers feature relatively modest armor, but are resistant to small arms fire. Category:Humanist Union Category:Ground Forces